Arts: Mad Men, Season 5

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Tv Club Mad Men, Season 5 Pete's been a weirdo since the beginning. By Julia Turner Posted Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012, at 11:59 AM ET John, I suspect you're right about Don in the bar. Just because the opportunity to dally presents itself doesn't mean he'll take it. Let's hope not, anyway. Before we conclude for the season I wanted to single out a few of the lovely moments in the finale. Lane's absence haunts the office in understated ways, and that dysfunctional partner's meeting was a marvelously quiet demonstration of how Lane's grave caution served as a plumb weight for the firm. Without him, the flip impatience of the other male partners has no counterbalance. I loved when Joan finally broke down and tried to play herself and Lane (a third role, given that she's already playing Joan the partner and Joan the office manager). Joan also seemed to have settled nicely into her partner's role. So far, there don't seem to be any icky consequences for the way she earned her 5 percent. (In fact, she seems to be wondering if her secret weapon, strategic sex, could have helped prevent Lane's suicide, too.) I've also been thinking more about the larger significance of Pete's plot arc this season. Why focus so much on his dissatisfaction with success, on his connection with a not-fully-realized housewife? I suspect his realization in the finale—essentially, that he's depressed, even if the culture of the time makes that harder for a man to admit—is a fairly substantial one, even if the mechanism ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Jeb Bush Is Saying Amazing Things. Too Bad Republicans Won't Heed Him. Phil Plait: I Saw Saturn Through a Telescope at Age 5. It's Why I Became a Scientist. Mad Men TV Club: Has Don Draper Fallen Out of Love With Megan?	Advertisement
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